Brothers In Arms
by BoandNora-ItsOneWord
Summary: When Clint goes over the edge with jealousy, lives hang in the balance. Will the Buchanan's ever be the same again? Focuses on Kelly/Joey, Kevin/Rachel and Bo/Nora.
1. Advice

**A-Advice**

Kelly sat in the waiting room of the hospital with her former aunt Nora. Nora put an arm around her shoulder and tried to force a smile. "How are you holding up," ? she asked her.

"Like I just caused a major war," Kelly responded.

"I know. I get it. But eventually you have to forgive yourself. It took me a long time to realize that it wouldn't matter what I did...they love you...both of them. Someone is going to get hurt."

Kelly sighed as she placed a hand absentmindedly across her stomach. Once upon a time she would have been so happy to be pregnant...now she was wondering if it was all worth it.

"So, how did you choose then," she asked Nora? "How did you make a decision between your husband and your ex husband?"

She paused as she looked into Kelly's eyes. "I made the only decision I could...Bo was always my heart and he will be until there is no longer any breath in me...I hated to hurt Clint but in the end, it would have hurt him more to keep lying to myself and everyone else. I know the circumstances are different here...but nobody can tell you who to choose...only your heart knows that."

She got up and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back. I want to go check on Bo."

"I'm...I'm sorry Nora. I know you're worried about him too. You must be going through hell."

"I am...and not just because the man I love was injured protecting me... but because to the world, what we feel for each other is wrong...It will never be wrong to us. Remember that."

Nora walked away and Kelly could see the strong facade begin to falter...she was trying so hard not to break down and cry and she got it...She was doing the same.

She wiped her tears as she walked to the nurses station...she needed to know something...anything at all.

"Excuse me but do you have any word on Mr. Buchanan yet?"

It was then that she realized the error of her ways...there was more then one Mr. Buchanan in the hospital. She was at a loss for who she should ask about first.

There had been a bomb that went off in the middle of an ordinary day...and everyone had scrambled to protect the ones they loved as they fought for cover. Kelly had been terrified when she watched Joey and Kevin going at it...probably about as terrified as Nora had been when she witnessed the fight between Bo and Clint...and then disaster had struck...disaster in every way... people had been killed...many more were injured...and then there were the casualties of a war within the family... war within both generations...Kelly and Nora were both pregnant...and neither of them knew who the father was...they would stand alone as critics ridiculed and judged...only they would understand that sometimes as hard as you try, you can not stop the heart from wanting what it wants...

Nora returned a minute later and answered the question that Kelly hadn't been able to answer..."She's asking about Joey," she stated.

Kelly was married to Kevin but it had been Joey who saved her life...like Kevin had saved Rachel's and Bo had saved Nora's...sometimes tragedy is what opens your eyes to what really matters...the people who on an ordinary day, under ordinary circumstances, you think you are perfectly fine without...except then you get hit with the possibility of losing them permanently and suddenly you are left wondering if you could ever go a second without them...Your mind will make the smart decision...your heart will make the one that shapes your future...In a moment of tragedy, you think instinctively...and for the rest of your life, good or bad, you will be haunted by that decision...or was it really a decision at all...can your heart rationally choose who to love...or does love choose for you?


	2. Backhand

**B-Backhand**

Kelly understood now why nobody wanted to be around when Nora was angry...she was now breathing fire as she backhanded Clint so hard that she thought he would have another stroke. Kelly walked calmly into the room and tried to play referee as Nora railed at her husband.

" _I will see you in the furthest corner of hell you son of a bitch,_ " she spat.

" _You aren't fit to raise a puppy_ ," he retaliated. "No judge in the world would side with _you_."

" _We'll see about that_ ," she snapped, and whirled around, just as Kelly was walking into the room.

"What in the world has gotten you two so worked up," Kelly asked?

"Oh nothing much...just Clint being a dick."

"At least I _have_ one," he hissed."

She made a lunge for him but Kelly managed to pull her back. "I know you are upset but is this helping _at all?_ "

 _"Sure it's helping...it's making me feel useful. It's good for my sanity_. "

"It's _not_ good for your health," Kelly stated.

"Are you talking about the fact that my whore of a wife managed to get herself knocked up...and doesn't even know who the father is."

"I'll tell you who is _not_ the father Clint...and I don't need a DNA test to tell me what I already know..."

"Didn't you say that with your last two kids too."

"Oh that's it," she said, and picked up the first available blunt object and hit him where her grandma used to say the sun don't shine. He winced in pain as she stood over him.

"Don't have much of a dick _now_ do you," she stated?

" _You're crazy_ ," he barked, and she just glared at him. " _Damn right I'm crazy. I was crazy for ever thinking you had a heart._ Go to hell Clint. If you think I can't take your fancy lawyers and your big bucks then you're wrong. I know more about the law then you will _ever_ know...you want a war...you got one...and in the meantime...keep your filthy hands off your brother...because trust me when I say..."

She leaned in closer as she whispered in his ear..."If you _ever_ try to kill him again, I will bury you. You _aren't_ Asa, Clint. _Stop_ pretending that this is what he would want. We _both_ know he would be _ashamed_ of you."

She slammed out of his hospital room, still breathing fire and this time Kelly stood and faced him...anger all over her face. "I can not believe you could ever do this...you are a lot of things Clint...I never thought you would try to kill someone in your own family."

"Kelly..."

"Save it for someone who gives a damn...Nora's right...You don't have a heart...you probably didn't even have a stroke to begin with..."

"You don't understand..."

"What I understand is that you are a sore loser...have some dignity for gods sake...let her go gracefully...you lost her a long time ago...if you think contesting the divorce will change that then you are the one who is crazy... _you shot him Clint...you shot your own brother...he was trying to save us all and you shot him._..was that your plan all along...were you working with that freak bomber...my God...your children were there...what kind of father puts his children in danger because he can't handle the fact that his wife doesn't love him anymore...Joey...Kevin...they're both in critical condition...are you happy now...will you ever be happy?"

She didn't wait for an answer...she simply stormed out of the room ... and found Nora leaning against the vending machines sobbing. "Nora...Nora what is it...Nora?"

"You didn't see him Kelly...he looks so pale...How many times is he going to be shot before he can't fight it anymore? I can't lose him...I can't lose him now."

"You won't lose him Nora...You won't..."

" _How do you know_ ," she asked her? " _How do any of us know anything...nobody will tell us anything."  
_  
"Patience isn't your best quality," Kelly said.

"How can I be patient when the man I have _always_ loved may be dying? How are you...how are you so calm right now?"

"I honestly have no idea," she said, and they both shared an awkward laugh. At that moment they heard a loud beep and turned in the direction of the rooms where everyone they loved was lying unconscious... _What did that mean? Were they about to find out more bad news?_

Kelly and Nora both held their breath then...waiting for the inevitable news that may or may not shatter their worlds.


	3. Coma

**C-Coma**

Kelly held on to Nora as the doctor said the words that broke her heart. "I'm sorry Nora. he's slipped into a coma. "

" _Oh God_ ," she gasped. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she started to shake. She wanted to walk into Clint's room and kill him herself. Instead she simply raged. " _So that's it then...he gets away with this...that son of a bitch gets to shoot the man I love and get away with it...he's in a coma...he's in a fucking coma_..."

"Nora...Nora, please...please calm down," Kelly tried to soothe. Except she was so angry, she was already hurling the now cold cup of herbal tea across the room. " _I'll calm down when Bo is awake and the bastards that put him there are either in an electric chair or rotting away in prison...until then...do NOT tell me to calm down...we didn't have enough time...not nearly enough time..._ "

She would have told her she understood except she didn't get the chance...Nora was facing the doctor...her body trembling as she begged..."Take me to him...take me to Bo."

As Nora walked away, Kelly had the sudden urge to check on Joey...except then Rachel was walking in, tears in her eyes.

"Is Kevin...is Kevin all right," she asked her simply?

"He's...he's critical Rachel...I haven't heard much more then that."

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...It should be me in there...he saved...he saved my life."

"And he was glad to do it...don't ever think it should be you...I don't wish that for you...I know you still love him...just like I'll always love Joey...breakups don't mean you stop caring..."

"Thank you...thank you for understanding...you've been so kind."

"You're a good person Rachel...You're just like your mom. You see so much good in people. This isn't your fault."

"How is she? Have you seen my mom? How is she?"

"Right now I think she's a little...broken. Bo just fell into a coma..."

"Oh God...God, she loves him so much...I've been so busy thinking about..."

She cupped Rachel's face and wiped away her tears..."Don't...your mother would understand...there's so many people in here we love...so many people who need our prayers."

"Would you mind terribly if I went to see Kevin? I want to thank him for saving my life. I don't know if he can hear me but..."

"It's worth a shot...you go...go check on Kevin...I'll go see how Joey is...then we can...we can help each other through...you and me and your mom...we need each other right now...we need each other."

They shared an awkward hug before the two of them went off in different directions. Kelly knew that look in Rachel's eyes. She was more then just Kevin's friend. She was falling back in love with him...just as she was falling back in love with Joey...like Nora had fallen back in love with Bo.

 _Sometimes the best of intentions fall short because fate has other plans...she was beginning to question what her fate was...she had been so sure it was Kevin not that long ago...now...now she wondered once again if Joey was her Destiny...if Kevin was Rachel's._.. She just needed to know they would both be okay...she loved them both in different ways...it wasn't like with Nora...Clint had killed whatever love she might have had for him when he shot his brother...Kevin and Joey were both decent men...they had been injured protecting others...

"What am I going to do," Kelly sighed, as she walked towards Joey's room. She knew she would have to make a decision soon. She prayed she could do that with minimal damage.


End file.
